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Thank you from families in Uganda

Home to the densest primate population in Africa, Kibale National Park in Uganda is sadly being cut down for firewood.

Threatened primates such as the chimpanzee and red colobus monkey - plus many other species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, are losing their homes.

Over 95% of the people living around Kibale rely exclusively on wood for cooking– and this wood often came from the national park, until the Kibale Fuel Wood Project began.

The project has developed four science centres which are free of charge to visit and act like natural history museums, libraries, meeting places and demonstration areas. Inside them are artifacts including animal skulls, skeletons and skins, insect specimens and other educational materials.

The centres are a real draw for the local communities and a great place to teach the local children about the importance of the National Park and the animals and plants that live in it.

We know our support is making a difference but receiving letters like the one below from Lillian and seeing the images of them enjoying the books proves it.

Since we’ve started working in these communities the number of families collecting wood from the national park has dropped from 30% to 11.5%, and 50% of the families surveyed now use fuel efficient stoves (an increase from 5% since the start of the project).

On top of this, more and more families are also starting to plant their own firewood at home – a real success story.